Gavin Morris, the Director of the SA Jewish Museum, which has just been honoured with a Certificate of Excellence 2017 award by TripAdvisor, suggests that this walk is a good start to connect with the local Jewish narrative past and present.
Gavin recommends that you take a circular route, starting and ending at the Jewish Museum. First visit the museum then follow this route for a walk in and around the city, (it is also accessible on the City Sightseeing’s hop-on hop-off Red Bus, if you tire of walking). Finish off back at the museum café for a relaxed kosher meal.
South Africa’s premier art museum, Iziko South African National Gallery, houses outstanding collections of South African, African, British, French, Dutch and Flemish art. Selections from the Permanent Collection change regularly to enable the museum to have a full programme of temporary exhibitions of paintings, works on paper, photography, sculpture, beadwork, textiles and architecture. They provide insight into the extraordinary range of Read more...
This Classical Revival building, the first custom-built shul ever established in sub-Saharan Africa, opened on Rosh Hashanah, 15 September 1863, located on the east side of Van Riebeeck’s former vegetable garden. Read more...
Discovering the story of one of the great communities of the Jewish diaspora is one of Cape Town’s not-to-be missed heritage experiences. Situated on perhaps the most historic urban square mile in the country and built as an extension of South Africa’s oldest synagogue, the South African Jewish Museum is a marvel of modern architecture whose contents mirror this fusion Read more...
Oldest Jewish congregation in South Africa, established in 1841. The new Baroque style edifice (Architect: John Parker) was opened by congregation President, Hyman Liberman, Mayor of Cape Town, on 17 September 1905. The foundation stone was laid by Governor Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson. Stained glass windows of Cape flowers and grapes installed 1936 and new stained glass windows in 2013. Pulpit Read more...
Established 1959. Extensive collection of books, magazines, journals, CDs and DVDs of Jewish interest. Jacob Gitlin was a dedicated Zionist worker and secretary to the Dorshei Zion Society for 27 years. Read more...
The first Holocaust Centre in Africa opened in 1999. The Centre houses a permanent exhibition and conducts educational programmes for schools, educators and diverse adult groups. Read more...
The water fountain is designed as a tribute to Patrons and Friends of the UJC Cape Town, who have deep roots in the Mother City but now live elsewhere. Read more...
The pond in front of Iziko SA National Gallery – the young child holding the spouting water, carved by Herbert Vladimir Meyerowitz was modelled on his son. Read more...
Adjoining the Lodge De Goede Hoop (first Masonic Lodge in South Africa) are two houses and a store, purchased in 1849 for £800, for use as a synagogue and a minister’s house. The Simon van de Stel Foundation plaque reads: “On this site stood a house which was used as the first synagogue in South Africa consecrated by the Reverend Read more...
The Houses of Parliament contain the Mendelssohn Collection assembled by Sydney Mendelssohn, a diamond dealer, the first great collector of Africana and a compiler of the classic South African Bibliography published in 1910. Jewish members of Parliament continue to play a role in South African politics. Read more...
Jan Smuts was a signatory to the Balfour Declaration, a friend of ChaimWeizmann, first President of the State of Israel, and personally fund-raised for Zionist organisations and lobbied against the 1939 White Paper. Several streets in Israel and Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan were named after him. His government gave de facto recognition to Israel on 24 May 1948. See also statue by Read more...
The Iziko Slave Lodge is one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town. The many names of the building over three centuries – Slave Lodge, Government Offices Building, Old Supreme Court, and SA Cultural History Museum – reflect the long and rich history of the building. Between 1679 and 1811, this windowless building was filled to the brim with slaves Read more...
The Cape Argus, established on 3 January 1857, was owned from 1863 to 1885 by Saul Solomon, a printer. Described as the “Cape Disraeli,” childhood rheumatic fever had left Solomon 4 feet tall with crippled legs. He was a brilliant scholar who became a prominent member of the Cape Parliament which he addressed standing on a box. It was said Read more...
Built in 1756 to replace the Watch House, and now a museum that houses the Old Dutch and Flemish art collection donated in 1917 by Sir Max Michaelis, a Jewish gold magnate, as a “practical expression of his affection for the country in which he had spent his earlier days”. There is a memorial to Michaelis in the courtyard. Read more...
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It’s a vibrant township known for its entrepreneurial spirit and social development projects. A truly South African experience that will stay with you forever.
